Join Buddy and the other dinosaurs from the Jim Henson hit series "Dinosaur Train" for a ride Aug. 16, 17, 23 and 24 in Phillipsburg. Delaware River Railroad is hosting the event, with train rides patterned after the PBS cartoon series. A 20-minute ride will take kids to the Nature Trackers activity area, where they can explore, play and learn about life science, natural history and dinosaurs. The railroad has built a Dinosaur Train village near the site of its Ol' Susquehanna Mine.

Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton is offering a "Whistle Stop" excursion during Railfest 2010. Railfest lets you take a trip back in time and explore the rails on Labor Day weekend, Sept. 4 and 5. Enjoy tours of Amtrak equipment and vintage and modern rail equipment, performances, food and fun. The Whistle Stop excursion was a recent addition to the activities. Guests will take a ride on historic diesel locomotives that pulled the Reading Railroad's fastest passenger train, the "Crusader."

Tuesday, Hersheypark announced it will build the country's first indoor, spinning glow-coaster for the 2015 season. The ride to be called Laff Trakk will be the 13th roller coaster at Hersheypark . The ride will be built within what park officials are calling a 21st century fun house and will spin riders through an adventure of sights and sounds complete with glimpses of colorful characters including classic fun house characters like...

The 5th annual Farm Ride and Fun Run/Walk will be held from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, July 20, according to The Seed Farm website. Cyclists can participate in 10, 20 and 40 mile runs, and a 5K run run/walk will be held on the grounds of The Seed Farm, the website said. Participants can register in advance or at the event, and a farmer's market showcasing farm apprentice efforts will cap off activities, the website said. The Seed Farm is a 45-acre farming, non-profit operation located in Upper Milford Township, aimed at providing innovative farming techniques, farming training, equipment and land practices to current and new generations of farmers, the website said.

Sage Karam needs and deserves a little help. The Lehigh Valley area's leading corporations should be lining up to provide it. In the hometown tradition started and maintained by three generations of Andrettis, Karam, a 19-year-old Nazareth Area High School senior, is about to kick off his career as an Indy car driver by trying to qualify for the Indianapolis 500. Karam, the champion of the 2013 Indy Lights series, signed a deal to drive...

Demon Drop, the newest thrill ride at Dorney Park, should be open by early June, park officials said Thursday. The 131-foot-tall ride, which simulates a free-fall drop from a 10-story building, will be the third drop-tower ride at the South Whitehall Township park and replaces Krazy Kars, a vintage bumper car ride in the park's lower midway area. The ride is not new and had been at Dorney's sister park, Cedar Point in Ohio, for 25 years. It was originally headed for Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, Calif.

A problem with a generator caused some kids' rides at Musikfest to stop working Saturday night, and Bethlehem firefighters were called to remove children stranded on one ride. Five children were evacuated safely from the mini-Ferris wheel by festival staff and emergency personnel within 10 to 15 minutes, said Mark Demko, a spokesman for ArtsQuest, which puts on Musikfest. He said children were on other rides that stopped, too, but they were removed safely immediately because those rides were at ground level.

When it comes to kids, Musikfest is returning to its roots a bit. This year, for the first time in a decade, the name of the area exclusively devoted to children's activities, is back to Kinderplatz, which means "children's' place" and reflects the festival's Pennsylvania German roots. The children's area, adjacent to Lehigh Street on the north side of Bethlehem, was called Kinderplatz until 2004 when the name was changed to Banana Island in a nod to ArtsQuest's Banana Factory arts center in south Bethlehem.

"Spamalot" at Muhlenberg Summer Music Theatre is unabashedly crazy fun and perfectly captures the absurdist and often downright silly humor of British comedy group Monty Python. The story is nominally about King Arthur and the knights going on a quest for the Holy Grail but the real point is setting up the zany song sequences and comedy bits, many which are straight from the 1975 cult film "Monty Python and the Holy Grail. " Simply said, the madcap musical, directed with flair by James Peck, is very funny nonsense set in the form of an outlandish Broadway musical.

An installment in a periodic series on the impact the large baby-boom generation will have on the Lehigh Valley as that population approaches retirement age. Judy Meyers spent 20 years working in Bethlehem as an administrator for Lifepath, a nonprofit agency that assists people with developmental disabilities. Looking ahead to retirement, she began training her successor so the agency could make a seamless transition from one staffer to the next. "She was trained for five years," said Meyers, after wrapping up one of her retirement pastimes - a low-impact aerobics class - at Allentown's YMCA earlier this week.

A 45-year-old man who police said was driving recklessly on a dirt bike through Allentown streets Sunday slammed into the door of a police cruiser, according to court records. Allentown police were dispatched at 9:32 p.m. to 11 t h and Allen streets, where they saw Michael King of New York City riding recklessly on the streets and sidewalks, according to court records. King was riding on the sidewalk at 11 t h and Liberty streets and slammed into the open door of police cruiser as an officer tried to get out, according to court records.

By Pamela Lehman, Of The Morning Call and By Pamela Lehman, Of The Morning Call | June 24, 2014

Bethlehem Township police said a man assaulted his mother and punched holes in a door Monday after she refused to give him a ride to the gym. Matthew Joseph Colabella, 19, is charged with simple assault and harassment. Colabella, of the 3600 block of Nicholson Road, was sent to Northampton County Prison under $5,000 bail. According to court records: Police were called at 5 p.m. by Colabella's mother, Angela Colabella. She told police her son had asked for a ride to the gym and she was unable to take him. Angela Colabella said her son threatened her and she went into her bedroom and locked the door.

After a Lower Saucon Township police officer gave a man a ride home, the man then struck the officer, according to court records. Timothy Allen Mihalek, 33, of Bethlehem, is charged with aggravated assault, harassment and simple assault. He is in Northampton County Prison under $40,000 bail. According to court records: Police said just before 3 a.m., Mihalek was being dropped off at his home by Lower Saucon Township police Officer David Roxberry. Police said earlier in the evening, Mihalek was intoxicated while at a bagel store on Friedensville Road.